Are the rumors true about Apple and mixed reality?
Announcement of a new headset could come this week. If so, it would be the first new flagship product the company has launched since the now ubiquitous Apple Watch was introduced in September 2014.
Is a big announcement from Apple about mixed reality (MR) forthcoming this week, possibly as early as 12 noon EDT June 5?
Jacob Robbins writes in this recently published article in PitchBook that the reported entry of Apple into the MR space will be a gamechanger for the sector. According to reports, the technology giant is expected to reveal a headset at its annual developer conference that runs until the end of the week.
“While many details about the forthcoming device remain under wraps, investors and start-up founders say Apple’s entry into mixed reality will stabilize and energize the vertical, bringing an overdue challenge to Meta’s dominance,” Robbins writes, citing two significant points.
- It is the first new flagship product the company has launched since the now ubiquitous Apple Watch was introduced in September 2014.
- It is also the biggest development in virtual and augmented reality (AR and VR) since Meta bought virtual reality hardware start-up Oculus in 2014 for $2 billion.
The PitchBook article notes that companies have explored the use of AR and VR headset technology for more than 25 years. Those date back to 1996 when gaming behemoth Nintendo experimented with a tabletop-mounted headset known as the Virtual Boy before it was canceled after criticism and lackluster commercial sales. More recently, the article cites:
- Alphabet’s Google Glass eyewear and the follow-up Daydream VR headset that were discontinued after failing to generate consumer enthusiasm; and
- Reports that Microsoft has pulled back from the Hololens, an AR glasses project, and Meta, whose Meta Quest headset is the market leader, has made mass layoffs and pivoted from its heavy focus on the metaverse toward artificial intelligence.
